Yamaguchi-gumi
Encyclopedia
is Japan
's largest and most infamous yakuza
organization. It is named after its founder Harukichi Yamaguchi
. Its origins can be traced back to a loose labor union for dockworkers in Kobe pre-WWII.
It is one of the largest criminal organizations
in the world. Estimates put the number of active members at just over 55,000, with thousands more having strong associations. It is, by far, the largest of the boryokudan groups, and its membership encompasses roughly 45% of the 86,300 yakuza in the Japanese underworld.
Formal members of the Yamaguchi-gumi number 102 people in total; 1 kumicho, 15 shatei (younger brother) and 86 wakachu (child) as of November 2005.
The Yamaguchi-gumi are among the world's wealthiest gangsters, bringing in billions of dollars a year from extortion
, gambling
, the sex industry
, guns, drugs, and real estate
and construction kickback
schemes. They are also involved in stock market manipulation
and Internet pornography
.
The Yamaguchi-gumi has its headquarters in Kobe
, Japan, but it operates all across Japan and has overseas operations in Asia
and the United States
. Despite more than a decade of police crackdowns, their numbers have been growing. Its current kumicho (Boss), Shinobu Tsukasa
, has declared an expansionist policy - even making inroads into Tokyo
, traditionally not Yamaguchi turf. They also have multiple groups working overseas.
When Taoka inherited the title of kumicho, it was merely a local family with only a few dozen members. It was Taoka who made Yamaguchi-gumi the world's largest criminal organization. He urged his underlings to have legitimate businesses and allowed them to have their own family, which became a kind of subsidiary family of Yamaguchi-gumi. He also created a structural system in the family. Wakagashira were elected as underbosses to the kumicho and some of powerful members were elected as wakagashira-hosa (deputy underbosses).
After the death of Taoka, the heir apparent wakagashira Kenichi Yamamoto
(kumicho of the Yamaken-gumi
) was serving a prison sentence. He died of liver failure shortly afterward. Fumiko Taoka, Kazuo Taoka's wife, stepped forward to fill the leadership void until a new kumicho could be selected by a council of eight top-level bosses.
In 1984, the elders chose Masahisa Takenaka
(kumicho of the Takenaka-gumi) to be the fourth kumicho of Yamaguchi-gumi. One of the other contenders, Hiroshi Yamamoto (kumicho of the Yamahiro-gumi), broke away from Yamaguchi-gumi with many of its powerful members and more than 3,000 of its soldiers to form the Ichiwa-kai
. A bitter rivalry existed between the two groups, which led to an all-out war (the Yama-Ichi War
) after the Ichiwa-kai's 1985 assassination of Takenaka and wakahashira Katsumasa Nakayama. During the war, acting-kumicho Kazuo Nakanishi
(kumicho of the Nakanishi-gumi) and wakagashira Yoshinori Watanabe
(kumicho of the Yamaken-gumi) briefly took the leadership role until 1989.
The Yama-Ichi War ended with retirement of Hiroshi Yamamoto which was arbitrated by one of the most respected bosses Seijo Inagawa. After that, the clan elected wakagashira Yoshinori Watanabe as 5th kumicho of the organization. Masaru Takumi
(kumicho of Takumi-gumi) was elected as wakagashira. He was so powerful and respected within the organization that his influence overshadowed that of kumicho to some extent.
In 1997, then powerful wakagashira Masaru Takumi was assassinated by underlings of then wakagashira-hosa (deputy underboss) Taro Nakano. After this assassination, they were unable to choose a new wakagashira for more than eight years. As a result, leadership of the organization became weaker. Finally, in 2005, wakagashira-hosa Shinobu Tsukasa (then kumicho of the Hirota-gumi) was chosen as new wakagashira and shortly afterward, in August 2005, Tsukasa inherited the position of the 6th kumicho of the Yamaguchi-gumi.
Watanabe has retired to private life — rather uncommon in Yakuza circles, as bosses usually do not retire until their death. Under Tsukasa's leadership, the 6th Yamaguchi-gumi has resumed expansion. Kiyoshi Takayama
, kumicho of the Kodo-kai
, was elected as wakagashira. They absorbed the Tokyo-based gang Kokusui-kai
, thus acquiring lucrative turf in the capital. Tsukasa was imprisoned in December 2005 for illegal gun possession, and was released in April 2011 after serving nearly six years in jail.
of 1995, the Yamaguchi-gumi started a large-scale relief effort for the earthquake victims, helping with the distribution of food and supplies. This help was essential to the Kobe population, because official support was inconsistent and chaotic for several days.
The Yamaguchi-gumi also provided relief in the wake of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
by opening its offices to the public and by sending supplies to affected areas.
, a senior ranking member of the Suishin-kai
(an affiliated Yakuza family to the Yamaguchi-gumi), assassinated Iccho Itoh
, the mayor of Nagasaki, over an apparent dispute over damage done to Shiroo's car at a public works construction site. On May 26, 2008, Tetsuya Shiroo was sentenced to death. However, the Fukuoka High Court revoked the death sentence and sentenced him to life imprisonment on September 29, 2009.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
's largest and most infamous yakuza
Yakuza
, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...
organization. It is named after its founder Harukichi Yamaguchi
Harukichi Yamaguchi
was the founder of the Yamaguchi-gumi, which grew to become Japan's largest and most powerful yakuza organization.Yamaguchi established the group in Kobe in 1915, and was its kumicho or Godfather until his death in 1925, when he was succeeded by his son Noboru Yamaguchi....
. Its origins can be traced back to a loose labor union for dockworkers in Kobe pre-WWII.
It is one of the largest criminal organizations
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
in the world. Estimates put the number of active members at just over 55,000, with thousands more having strong associations. It is, by far, the largest of the boryokudan groups, and its membership encompasses roughly 45% of the 86,300 yakuza in the Japanese underworld.
Formal members of the Yamaguchi-gumi number 102 people in total; 1 kumicho, 15 shatei (younger brother) and 86 wakachu (child) as of November 2005.
The Yamaguchi-gumi are among the world's wealthiest gangsters, bringing in billions of dollars a year from extortion
Extortion
Extortion is a criminal offence which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection. Extortion is commonly practiced by organized crime...
, gambling
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
, the sex industry
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
, guns, drugs, and real estate
Mortgage fraud
Mortgage fraud is crime in which the intent is to materially misrepresent or omit information on a mortgage loan application to obtain a loan or to obtain a larger loan than would have been obtained had the lender or borrower known the truth....
and construction kickback
Bid rigging
Bid rigging is a form of fraud in which a commercial contract is promised to one party even though for the sake of appearance several other parties also present a bid. This form of collusion is illegal in most countries...
schemes. They are also involved in stock market manipulation
Securities fraud
Securities fraud, also known as stock fraud and investment fraud, is a practice that induces investors to make purchase or sale decisions on the basis of false information, frequently resulting in losses, in violation of the securities laws....
and Internet pornography
Internet pornography
Internet pornography is pornography that is distributed by means of various sectors of the Internet, primarily via websites, peer-to-peer file sharing, or Usenet newsgroups...
.
The Yamaguchi-gumi has its headquarters in Kobe
Kobe
, pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka...
, Japan, but it operates all across Japan and has overseas operations in Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Despite more than a decade of police crackdowns, their numbers have been growing. Its current kumicho (Boss), Shinobu Tsukasa
Kenichi Shinoda
, also known as , is a yakuza, the sixth and current kumicho of the Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan's largest yakuza organization. He was released from prison on April 9, 2011, after serving a six-year sentence for firearms possession....
, has declared an expansionist policy - even making inroads into Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, traditionally not Yamaguchi turf. They also have multiple groups working overseas.
Leadership
- 1st kumicho (1915–1925): Harukichi YamaguchiHarukichi Yamaguchiwas the founder of the Yamaguchi-gumi, which grew to become Japan's largest and most powerful yakuza organization.Yamaguchi established the group in Kobe in 1915, and was its kumicho or Godfather until his death in 1925, when he was succeeded by his son Noboru Yamaguchi....
- 2nd kumicho (1925–1942): Noboru YamaguchiNoboru Yamaguchiwas the second kumicho, or Godfather, of the Yamaguchi-gumi yakuza gang in Japan.He assumed control of the gang in 1925 upon the death of his father, the gang's founder, Harukichi Yamaguchi. He ruled until the outbreak of World War II in 1942. He was succeeded in 1946 by his protege, Kazuo Taoka....
— son of Harukichi Yamaguchi - 3rd kumicho (1946–1981): Kazuo TaokaKazuo Taokawas one of the most prominent yakuza Godfathers.Known as the "Godfather of Godfathers", Taoka was third kumicho of the Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan's largest yakuza organization, from 1946 to 1981....
When Taoka inherited the title of kumicho, it was merely a local family with only a few dozen members. It was Taoka who made Yamaguchi-gumi the world's largest criminal organization. He urged his underlings to have legitimate businesses and allowed them to have their own family, which became a kind of subsidiary family of Yamaguchi-gumi. He also created a structural system in the family. Wakagashira were elected as underbosses to the kumicho and some of powerful members were elected as wakagashira-hosa (deputy underbosses).
- 4th kumicho (1984–1985): Masahisa TakenakaMasahisa Takenakawas the short-lived 4th kumicho of the Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan's largest yakuza gang.He took the role of kumicho in 1984, but was assassinated at a girlfriend's home in Osaka early the next year by a rival faction, the Ichiwa-kai. The killing sparked a massive yakuza war, the Yama-Ichi War, in...
After the death of Taoka, the heir apparent wakagashira Kenichi Yamamoto
Kenichi Yamamoto (yakuza)
was the founder of the Yamaken-gumi yakuza gang, who were based in Kobe, Japan. It is the largest affiliate of the Yamaguchi-gumi.Yamamoto was the eldest son in his family. His father was an engineer working for Kawasaki Heavy Industries...
(kumicho of the Yamaken-gumi
Yamaken-gumi
is a yakuza gang based in Kobe, Japan. It is the largest affiliate of the largest known yakuza syndicate in Japan, the Yamaguchi-gumi, followed by the Nagoya-based Kodo-kai...
) was serving a prison sentence. He died of liver failure shortly afterward. Fumiko Taoka, Kazuo Taoka's wife, stepped forward to fill the leadership void until a new kumicho could be selected by a council of eight top-level bosses.
In 1984, the elders chose Masahisa Takenaka
Masahisa Takenaka
was the short-lived 4th kumicho of the Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan's largest yakuza gang.He took the role of kumicho in 1984, but was assassinated at a girlfriend's home in Osaka early the next year by a rival faction, the Ichiwa-kai. The killing sparked a massive yakuza war, the Yama-Ichi War, in...
(kumicho of the Takenaka-gumi) to be the fourth kumicho of Yamaguchi-gumi. One of the other contenders, Hiroshi Yamamoto (kumicho of the Yamahiro-gumi), broke away from Yamaguchi-gumi with many of its powerful members and more than 3,000 of its soldiers to form the Ichiwa-kai
Ichiwa-kai
The Ichiwa-kai was a yakuza gang based in Osaka, Japan.It was formed on June 13, 1984 when Hiroshi Yamamoto, a top lieutenant in the Yamaguchi-gumi, broke from that gang to form his own organization with over 10,000 members...
. A bitter rivalry existed between the two groups, which led to an all-out war (the Yama-Ichi War
Yama-Ichi War
The Yama–Ichi War was a yakuza conflict mainly fought in the Kansai region of Japan from 1985 to 1989, between the Yamaguchi-gumi and the Ichiwa-kai gangs....
) after the Ichiwa-kai's 1985 assassination of Takenaka and wakahashira Katsumasa Nakayama. During the war, acting-kumicho Kazuo Nakanishi
Kazuo Nakanishi
Kazuo Nakanishi was briefly the leader of the Yamaguchi-gumi yakuza syndicate in the chaotic years of the Yama-Ichi War...
(kumicho of the Nakanishi-gumi) and wakagashira Yoshinori Watanabe
Yoshinori Watanabe
was a yakuza, the fifth kumicho of the Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan's largest yakuza organization. He became kumicho in 1989. He was known for a more low-key approach than his predecessors, partly due to an Anti-Gang law passed in 1992...
(kumicho of the Yamaken-gumi) briefly took the leadership role until 1989.
- 5th kumicho (1989–2005): Yoshinori WatanabeYoshinori Watanabewas a yakuza, the fifth kumicho of the Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan's largest yakuza organization. He became kumicho in 1989. He was known for a more low-key approach than his predecessors, partly due to an Anti-Gang law passed in 1992...
The Yama-Ichi War ended with retirement of Hiroshi Yamamoto which was arbitrated by one of the most respected bosses Seijo Inagawa. After that, the clan elected wakagashira Yoshinori Watanabe as 5th kumicho of the organization. Masaru Takumi
Masaru Takumi
Masaru Takumi was a powerful Japanese organized crime figure assassinated in 1997. Until his death, he was the second-in-command and financial overseer of Japan's largest yakuza gang, the Yamaguchi-gumi...
(kumicho of Takumi-gumi) was elected as wakagashira. He was so powerful and respected within the organization that his influence overshadowed that of kumicho to some extent.
- 6th kumicho (2005–present): Shinobu TsukasaKenichi Shinoda, also known as , is a yakuza, the sixth and current kumicho of the Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan's largest yakuza organization. He was released from prison on April 9, 2011, after serving a six-year sentence for firearms possession....
(real name: Kenichi Shinoda)
In 1997, then powerful wakagashira Masaru Takumi was assassinated by underlings of then wakagashira-hosa (deputy underboss) Taro Nakano. After this assassination, they were unable to choose a new wakagashira for more than eight years. As a result, leadership of the organization became weaker. Finally, in 2005, wakagashira-hosa Shinobu Tsukasa (then kumicho of the Hirota-gumi) was chosen as new wakagashira and shortly afterward, in August 2005, Tsukasa inherited the position of the 6th kumicho of the Yamaguchi-gumi.
Watanabe has retired to private life — rather uncommon in Yakuza circles, as bosses usually do not retire until their death. Under Tsukasa's leadership, the 6th Yamaguchi-gumi has resumed expansion. Kiyoshi Takayama
Kiyoshi Takayama
is a yakuza, the founding head of the Nagoya-based Takayama-gumi, the president of the 2nd Kodo-kai, and the number-two boss of the 6th Yamaguchi-gumi, the largest known yakuza syndicate in Japan....
, kumicho of the Kodo-kai
Kodo-kai
The Kodo-kai is a yakuza criminal organization based in Nagoya, Japan. It is a secondary organization of the Sixth Yamaguchi-gumi, the largest known yakuza syndicate in Japan...
, was elected as wakagashira. They absorbed the Tokyo-based gang Kokusui-kai
Kokusui-kai
The Kokusui-kai , founded in 1958, is a Tokyo-based yakuza organization with an estimated 500 members. Despite its relatively low membership, it is widely viewed as a wealthy and successful gang, controlling Tokyo's fashionable Ginza district....
, thus acquiring lucrative turf in the capital. Tsukasa was imprisoned in December 2005 for illegal gun possession, and was released in April 2011 after serving nearly six years in jail.
Relief support after disasters
Immediately after the Kobe EarthquakeGreat Hanshin earthquake
The Great Hanshin earthquake, or Kobe earthquake, was an earthquake that occurred on Tuesday, January 17, 1995, at 05:46 JST in the southern part of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. It measured 6.8 on the moment magnitude scale , and Mj7.3 on JMA magnitude scale. The tremors lasted for approximately 20...
of 1995, the Yamaguchi-gumi started a large-scale relief effort for the earthquake victims, helping with the distribution of food and supplies. This help was essential to the Kobe population, because official support was inconsistent and chaotic for several days.
The Yamaguchi-gumi also provided relief in the wake of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
The 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku, also known as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, or the Great East Japan Earthquake, was a magnitude 9.0 undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred at 14:46 JST on Friday, 11 March 2011, with the epicenter approximately east...
by opening its offices to the public and by sending supplies to affected areas.
Assassination of Iccho Itoh
On April 17, 2007, Tetsuya ShirooTetsuya Shiroo
is the former leader of the Suishin-kai, a Nagasaki-based yakuza group affiliated with the Yamaguchi-gumi, the largest yakuza organization in Japan.On April 17, 2007, Shiroo shot Iccho Itoh, the mayor of Nagasaki, who died early the next morning....
, a senior ranking member of the Suishin-kai
Suishin-kai
The Suishin-kai was a Japanese yakuza gang based in Nagasaki. The gang, affiliated with the Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan's largest yakuza syndicate, came to prominence in April 2007 when its former underboss , Tetsuya Shiroo, shot and killed the mayor of Nagasaki, Iccho Itoh.The killing is believed to...
(an affiliated Yakuza family to the Yamaguchi-gumi), assassinated Iccho Itoh
Iccho Itoh
, born , was the mayor of the Japanese city of Nagasaki; he first took office in 1995. He was a graduate from Waseda University, and majored in political science.-Career:...
, the mayor of Nagasaki, over an apparent dispute over damage done to Shiroo's car at a public works construction site. On May 26, 2008, Tetsuya Shiroo was sentenced to death. However, the Fukuoka High Court revoked the death sentence and sentenced him to life imprisonment on September 29, 2009.